' (; ''Paris and Helen'') is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

by Christoph Willibald Gluck. It is the third of Gluck's so-called reform operas for Vienna, following '' Orfeo ed Euridice'' and '' Alceste'', and the least often performed of the three. Like its predecessors, the libretto was written by

Ranieri de' Calzabigi Ranieri de' Calzabigi (; 23 December 1714 – July 1795) was an Italian poet and librettist, most famous for his collaboration with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck on his "reform" operas. Born in Livorno, Calzabigi spent the 1750s in Paris ...

. The opera tells the story of the events between the

Judgment of Paris Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle ...

and the flight of Paris and Helen to

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

. It was premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 3 November 1770.

Roles

Synopsis

The hero Paris is in

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

, having chosen

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...

above Hera and

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...

, sacrificing to Aphrodite and seeking, with the encouragement of Erasto, the love of Helen. Paris and Helen meet at her royal palace and each is struck by the other's beauty. She calls on him to judge an athletic contest and when asked to sing he does so in praise of her beauty, admitting the purpose of his visit is to win her love. She dismisses him. In despair Paris pleads with her, and she begins to give way. Eventually, through the intervention of Erasto, who reveals himself as Cupid, she gives way, but

Pallas Athene Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

(Athena) warns them of sorrow to come. In the final scene Paris and Helen make ready to embark for

Arias

Aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

s from the opera that enjoy an independent concert existence include Paris's minor-key declaration of love, "O del mio dolce ardor" (O of my gentle love), in the first act. His second aria is "Spiagge amate" (Beloved shores). In the second act, again in a minor key, Paris fears that he may lose Helen in "Le belle immagini" (The fair semblance) and in the fourth would prefer death to life without Helen, "Di te scordarmi, e vivere" (To forget you and to live). The role of Paris offers difficulties of casting, written, as it was, for a relatively high castrato voice. Arias of Paris have been adapted for

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

s, with transposition an octave lower, or appropriated by sopranos and mezzo-sopranos. The aria "O del mio dolce ardor" was arranged for orchestra by

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

in October 1870.

Performance history

After the première in the Burgtheater, Vienna, in 1770, there were 25 further performances in Vienna before 1800 (contrasting with more than 100 of his ''Orfeo ed Euridice'' and more than 70 of ''Alceste''). It seems that Gluck did not bring this opera to Paris - he was in Paris from 1773, but it was not performed there at this time. The opera was put on in Naples in 1777 but no other productions have been traced until 1901, when it was revived in Prague, and 1905, when it was produced in Hamburg (in German, in a cut version in two acts). Nevertheless, a New York Times critic wrote that it had been performed in Berlin in 1863. The opera received its first performance in the US in 1954 at the Town Hall in Manhattan. Another production was given at the

Mannes College of Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School ca ...

in New York in 1991. In the UK, the first performance was in Manchester in November 1963. What seems to have been the London première was on 21 October 2003, at the

Barbican Hall The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...

. There have been concert performances from time to time, and one in 1983 was followed by a recording. The opera was staged at the Drottningholm Theatre in Stockholm in 1987, with

Magdalena Kožená Magdalena Kožená (also Lady Rattle; ; born 26 May 1973) is a Czech mezzo-soprano. Early life Kožená was born in Brno in Czechoslovakia. Both her parents had come originally from Bohemia, to the west. She was born one of the two daughters o ...

as Paris. In 2014 Essential Opera performed the opera in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and Kitchener, Canada. Odyssey Theatre staged the opera in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in February 2019. Bampton Classical Opera plans to perform the opera in summer 2021, the 2020 performances having been postponed.

Notes

Recordings

Franco Bonisolli Franco Bonisolli (May 25, 1938 – October 30, 2003) was an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, notably as Manrico and Calaf. Life and career Bonisolli was born in Rovereto, Italy. He studied with Alfr ...

(Paride),

Ileana Cotrubaș Ileana Cotrubaș (; born 9 June 1939) is a Romanian operatic soprano whose career spanned from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was much admired for her acting skills and facility for singing opera in many different languages. Life and career Cotrub ...

(Elena), Gabriele Fontana (Pallade), Sylvia Greenberg (Amore);

ORF Symphony Orchestra The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (German: ''ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien'', or RSO Wien) is the orchestra of the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). Unlike most other Austrian orchestras, the RSO Wien has a sub ...

and Chorus,

Lothar Zagrosek Lothar Zagrosek (born 13 November 1942 in Otting, Germany) is a German conductor. As a youth, he sang in the Regensburg Cathedral choir, including performances as the First Boy in ''The Magic Flute'' at the 1954 Salzburg Festival. From 1962 to ...

(Orfeo, 2002) *

(Paride),

Susan Gritton Susan Gritton (born 31 August 1965) is an English operatic soprano. She was the 1994 winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award and has sung leading roles in a wide-ranging repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Britten, Janáček and Strauss. Life ...

(Elena), Carolyn Sampson (Amore), Gillian Webster (Pallade/Un Trojano); Gabrieli Consort and Players,

Paul McCreesh Paul McCreesh (born 24 May 1960) is an English conductor. Paul McCreesh is the founder and artistic director of the Gabrieli Consort & Players. With them he has performed in major concert halls and festivals across the world. He has been the ...

(Deutsche Grammophon Archiv, 2005) * Paride: Lajos Kozma, Elena: Magda László, Eros/Aristeo: Valeria Mariconda, Giovane Trojano: Lorenza Canepa, Pallade: Linda Vajna, Troiano: Doro Antonioli. RAI di Milano Choir and Orchestra – Conductor: Mario Rossi. Recorded 5 September 1968.

References

External links

*
Libretto
{{Authority control 1770 operas Italian-language operas Operas based on classical mythology Operas by Christoph Willibald Gluck Opera world premieres at the Burgtheater Operas